The news about whatever Nintendo is planning after the Nintendo Switch has been sparse. But, once in a while, we’re now getting small confirmations. Late on Tuesday, Nintendo announced that backward compatibility is coming to the Switch successor.
The official Nintendo X/Twitter account posted the Japanese version, written by Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, and the English translation (as they always do) below it on the evening of November 5th, 2024:
This is Furukawa. At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date.
Could we have been given a clue to the name of the Nintendo Switch successor?
It’s no secret that Nintendo is likely going to announce their next console imminently. But, the Switch successor having access to the Switch’s library opens up a lot of possibilities. But, let’s break down a couple of easy-to-miss key details about this post.
The fact that Nintendo Switch Software “will also be playable” means that there will likely be a Switch cartridge-shaped slot in the Switch successor. This could come in a similar way to how Nintendo DS games could be played on the Nintendo 3DS, but not the other way around.
But, here is an interesting detail that could mean nothing. Furukawa said that “Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to the Nintendo Switch.” Seeing as he didn’t say “the successor to Nintendo Switch Online” or some variant of that sentiment, it’s possible that Nintendo Switch Online may still be the name of the service in the future.
Again, that could be a detail that they’re keeping under wraps. But, that does lead some credence to the theories that the Switch successor could be named something along the lines of “Nintendo Switch 2”, “New Nintendo Switch”, or (my personal favorite) “Super Nintendo Switch”. Basically, it could still possibly have “Switch” in the name.
While some fans hoped we’d have the announcement for the Switch successor by now, Furukawa actually already said that we’d be getting an announcement sometime during this “fiscal year”. For the record, Nintendo’s fiscal year ends in March 2025. It could be tomorrow, or it could be 3 months from now. Who knows.
Earlier this year, a ton of patents were found for various bits of Nintendo hardware. I broke it down pretty heavily here, to talk more about various rumors and potential leaks. Take it all with all of the grains of salt you can muster. But, there are some interesting patents that could be relevant.
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